Tanks, vessels, trenches, dikes, and other confined spaces often provide a manway or manhole for allowing a worker to enter the confined space. Some confined spaces contain or previously contained chemicals or other substances.
To ensure worker safety when a worker is working in a confined space, it may be required by law or regulation or it may otherwise be advisable to monitor the air within the confined space for a concentration of one or more elements or compounds that could be injurious to or present a risk to the worker's health. Portable gas monitors have been used to monitor air within confined spaces when workers, such as maintenance personal, are working within the confined space.
However, the present inventor recognized that there is often no suitable or convenient place to place the gas monitor on or adjacent to the manway. Further, the present inventor recognized that manways are often located in industrial or other work areas were the area surrounding the manway is dirty, greasy, watery, or otherwise not suitable for placing sensitive and relatively costly gas monitoring equipment. If the gas monitor equipment is laid in the manway opening, it is an obstacle to ingress and egress through the manway by the worker. Further, the gas monitoring equipment might be damaged or destroyed by a worker during ingress or egress, such as if the gas monitoring equipment is stepped on or knocked off of the manway opening.
The present inventor recognized that even if the gas monitor can be laid in an area surrounding the manway, a probe must extend from the gas monitor outside of the confined space through the manway and into the confined space. The present inventor recognized that when the probe lays on the bottom of the manway opening it is an obstacle ingress and egress through the manway by the worker. The probe can be damaged or destroyed by a worker during ingress or egress. Even if the probe is not damaged during ingress or egress, the probe must be moved or carefully positioned during ingress and egress. Therefore, moving and positioning the probe during ingress and egress adds time and is inconvenient to the worker. Further, if the worker must exit quickly due to an emergency, the probe or the gas monitoring equipment is a potential obstacle to the quick and safe exit of the confined space by the worker.
The present inventor recognized that certain laws, rules, regulations and or best practices require certain documents, such as work permits, to be posted adjacent the manway of a confined space when a worker is working within the confined space. But there is often no convenient place or manner of posting such documents adjacent the manway. The present inventor recognized that certain laws, rules, regulations and or best practices may require an air horn or other audible warning device to be placed adjacent a manway of a confined space when a worker is working within the confined space. But there is often no convenient place or manner of placing the air horn or other sound generating warning device adjacent the manway. The present inventor recognized that certain laws, rules, regulations and or best practices may require a two-way radio or other communication device to be placed adjacent a manway of a confined space when a worker is working within the confined space. But there is often no convenient place or manner of placing the two-way radio or other communication device adjacent the manway. The present inventor recognized the need for a device that will enable the secure placement of several items at or adjacent a manway to a confined space.